A tantalizing, ribald, erotically enthusiastic assortment for hot and bothered libidinous readers.
An anthology of lusty stories features mostly women in varying states of desire, attachment, and affluence.
Anonymous brazenly presents 12 tales of unbridled sex and desire predominantly led by a bevy of regal, wanton female protagonists. The introductory story, “The Gift,” is an elegant affair featuring a beautiful, young, virginal debutante who is bestowed with a coming-out ball and a prearranged beau orchestrated by her oversexed aunt. A surprise present of golden egg vibrators and a hedge-maze rendezvous blissfully steal her virtue. The jilted pastor’s wife in “Stepping Out With a Stable Boy” fully indulges her carnal craving for a much younger and impressively endowed young man. More contemporary themes can be found in the gender transformation at the heart of the provocative “One Night as a Woman” and in the gay passion that erupts between a pent-up customer and a pastry chef in “The Baker’s Man.” While the tales are devilishly erotic, they each impart a sly sophistication by embedding the sex within an engaging and thoroughly immersive storyline. Also notable is the author’s thoughtful inclusion of a preemptive disclaimer about what could be considered triggering context and content for more sensitive readers (for example, verbal abuse role-play, consensual roughness, and interchangeable sex partners). This may come in handy in explicitly titillating tales like the creatively inspired “An Evening of Cards,” spotlighting a French courtesan who embellishes a poker table for a host of male gamblers. Richly seductive in the physical details of the characters, the author demonstrates a distinct talent for stoking the fantasy elements inherent in each scenario. Readers will feel the breathless forbidden desire of the virgin in the opening story and the desperation in the raunchy lengths a dutiful wife takes to mitigate her husband’s debts. Aficionados of erotic novels are certain to enjoy not only the sizzling prose and feverish sex scenes, but also that the tales are short, potently hardcore, and able to be devoured without the commitment of a full-length book. Effortlessly steamy and consistent in quality and graphic coital content, this carnal collection leaves little to the imagination but a lot to the intimate caverns of sexual fantasy.
A tantalizing, ribald, erotically enthusiastic assortment for hot and bothered libidinous readers.Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68-281523-6
Page Count: 560
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A surprisingly sensual sports romance.
A collegiate diver and swimmer secretly pursue kink together, and risk falling in love along the way.
Scarlett Vandermeer is struggling. Despite a successful recovery from the injury that almost ended her Stanford diving career, she hasn’t been able to get her head together, and it’s affecting her performance. Plus, she’s trying to stay focused on getting into medical school. A relationship would be out of the question. By comparison, Lukas Blomqvist is a swimming idol, a record-breaker who wins medals as easily as breathing, and Scarlett has long been convinced he would never look in her direction—until one fateful night when a mutual friend lets slip that they have something unexpected in common: Scarlett likes to be submissive in the bedroom, while Lukas prefers to take a dominant approach. Now, they both know a big secret about each other, and it’s something neither of them can stop thinking about. It’s Lukas who suggests they have a fling—purely physical, just to take the edge off, so Scarlett can get out of her own head and stop overthinking her dives. Initially, their arrangement is easy to stick to, but the more time they spend together, the more Scarlett starts to realize that what she feels for Lukas is more than physical attraction. Complicating the situation is the fact that Scarlett’s friend Penelope Ross used to go out with Lukas, and the longer Scarlett keeps mum about her true feelings for him, the more difficult it is to keep the situation hidden from another person she really cares about. While Scarlett and Lukas’ relationship does begin as a physical one, their deeper psychological connection takes a little too long to emerge amid all the other storylines, resulting in a somewhat rushed resolution. However, Hazelwood’s latest is proof of the depth and maturity that has emerged in her writing over the years, and it highlights her embrace of sexier, more emotional elements than were present in her original STEMinist rom-coms.
A surprisingly sensual sports romance.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593641057
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.
Two people with bad luck in relationships find each other through a popular Reddit thread.
Emma Grant and her best friend, Maddy, are travel nurses, working at hospitals for three-month stints while they see the country. Just a few weeks before they’re set to move to Hawaii, Emma reads a popular “Am I the Asshole” Reddit thread from a Minnesota man who thinks he’s cursed—women he dates find their soulmates after breaking up with him, and the latest one found true love with his best friend! Emma has had a similar experience, which inspires her to DM the man and commiserate. She’s delighted by her witty, lively interactions with software engineer Justin Dahl, and is intrigued when he suggests that if they date each other, maybe they’ll each find their soulmate afterward. Emma upends the Hawaii plan and convinces Maddy to move to Minneapolis for the summer so she can meet Justin in person. The overly complex setup brings Emma and Justin together and the two hit it off, with Justin immediately falling head over heels for Emma. Jimenez then pivots to creating romantic roadblocks and melodramatic subplots centering on each character’s family of origin. Justin’s mother is about to serve six years in prison for embezzlement, which means Justin must move back home to care for his three much younger siblings. Emma was traumatized by her own mother for much of her childhood, left to fend for herself and eventually abandoned in the foster system. When her mother shows up in Minnesota, Emma must face her traumatic childhood and admit that she has prioritized her mother’s well-being over her own. There is little time devoted to Emma’s painful efforts to heal herself enough to accept Justin’s love, which leaves the novel feeling unsatisfying.
A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781538704431
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
